If Nothing Changes
by FoxyWolfMeerkat
Summary: The notes of Vale Pauling. The following stories are set many years after the events of Team Fortress 2 and as such are based on original characters.
1. The First Note

My death is near and while I have seen or heard about all these events, they are quite a ways in the future. All I pray is that you, finder of my collection of notes, takes action to keep the Team Fortress Industries from leading to near apocalypse. How? I can't tell you, but by the heavens, do something!

My name, by the way, is Vale Pauling, Mr. Pauling if you'd like.

* * *

This story is going to be scattered between it's characters; I can't give you much better. I couldn't have been through all of the events that followed so I could only talk to those whom I had time for. I'll happily give you small tales of light between the steps of the darkened path through these people walk.

My best guess as to when things started to go wrong is when The Administrator of the time, Helen Bryer, hired and started manipulating Persy Vidal. Now Persy was Valerie Vidal's third son, her youngest being Jack Vidal. Jack was the top RED Scout, confident (like all members of 1 teams) but kind enough to those who treated him well (like most members of 1 teams). Now if you don't know what I mean by 'top Scout' or '1 teams' then let me explain. Team Fortress Industries, at the time, had the RED, BLU, and GREEN teams. These teams were made up of twenty groups of nine mercenaries, each of their own class. Jack Vidal was known to the systems as RED Scout 1 - Identifying his class, his team, and his 'group.'

Well, Persy wanted to destroy TFI; an insane feat, as by that time TFI had a major influence on all of the world's governments. Once Helen got a hold of him, she let him have an illusion of freewill. Really, she was the one who'd led him to Gowan MacClennan and gave him the plans to give to BLU Demoman 1.

Gowan MacClennan told his team the plan, and led them in carrying it out.

* * *

Gowan, Nicolai Arkadiy (the Heavy), Fagan Elenek (the Pyro), and without the knowledge of his team, and against the plan, Spencer Cheston (the Engineer) went to the GREEN Rotation Base. While his teammates booby trapped the base and got ready to kill those inside, Spencer desperately worked to find a way in that he wouldn't be seen. You see, Spencer had a younger sister named Daisy, whom worked as the top GREEN Engineer; and he wasn't going to just lay back while she was brutally murdered.

I'm sure your first thought is, "What does it matter? They have respawn right?" Well, the answer is yes, but Gowan and the others were making sure the respawn was the first thing to be destroyed.

* * *

Inside the base, Daisy and the Pyro, Holly, were inside the aforementioned respawn. Daisy was simply working on her teleporter design, while Holly was bored and setting various things on fire. A blue sticky bomb attached itself to the respawn window with a light 'tink', only getting the attention of Holly. Holly, of course, did what she did best; set it on fire.

The explosion (which only occurred due to a fault in the bomb's shell) triggered the destruction of the base before Gowan was quite ready, but did take out about half the base (How the man had that many sticky bombs on him escapes me), including the respawn. Holly was killed just short of instantly by the explosion, while Daisy got by with very bad burns - only to be crushed by falling concrete after. This is my best guess at least, I wasn't trained in autopsy after all...


	2. Lemonade Stand

9 Years Before the Start

* * *

Jack stood next to his lemonade stand in 90 degree weather and nearby a rather busy road. Overall, few people came by, most preferring their air conditioned cars to overheated concrete below heels, sneakers, or whatever shoes they wore. Regardless, Jack was managing to turn a profit from those who passed by, mainly RED supporters, a few GREEN supporters, and rarely, a very hot and tired BLU. Most people wore colors to identify their teams, blue and grey for BLU, red and brown for RED, and green and white for GREEN. The Vidal's were one of these cases, with the exception of Persy, Jack's third oldest brother.

To Jack, the colors had yet to matter as anything more than a temperament call. BLUs were bad tempered toward him, and Jack found himself usually villainizing and avoiding them. GREENs, on the other hand, were usually rather nice; of course, there were always nasty exceptions.

He sat down on the small wooden stool he'd brought to the corner today, and wiped his brow. The heat was getting unbearable after being out there for so long, though the lemonade stand was selling better by the hour. Jack watched a few people pass before someone stopped. A young, brown haired and eyed girl in a green shirt and a mid-length white, ruffled skirt.

"Do you want some? A glass is just a quarter."

"I don't have a quarter, only a dime…"

Jack smiled, the girl seemed nice, but tired and hot. "How about I give you a little discount?" he asked, already pouring her a glass.

"Really?!"

"Sure! What's your name?" he asked, handing her the drink.

"I'm Adrianna, what about you?"

"Jack, and I hope you like the lemonade even though it's not very sweet."

She took her time finishing the drink before anything more was said.

"Hey, do you mind me staying out here with you?"

"Sure, of course you can stay! Wanna help me sell some lemonade?"

"Yeah, that would be fun!"

Soon the two were taking turns tending the stand, thus giving out the lemonade while the other ran around advertizing the little stand to passers-by.

By the end of the day the two were exhausted, but were undaunted by the prospect of taking the stand apart and carrying it, as well as the stool, down the street and into Jack's garage. It only took two trips compared to Jack's usual three or four.

"Who's your new friend, jackrabbit?"

"This is Adrianna ma! She helped me sell lemonade."

Adrianna stood back from Valerie, blushing and shy at the stranger, though she quickly adjusted to the woman, along with Jack's seven older brothers.

"Hey Adrianna, before you go home, we should watch the sunset together!"

* * *

Noted Characters:

Jack Vidal - Age: 10 - Team: RED

Adrianna Leewana - Age: 10 - Team: GREEN

Persy Vidal - Age: 14 - Team: None

Valerie Vidal - Age: 35 - Team: RED

Unnamed:

Yonah Vidal - Age: 11 - Team: RED

Teo Vidal - Age: 11 - Team: RED

Benroy Vidal - Age: 12 - Team: RED

Dann Vidal - Age: 13 - Team: RED

Eason Vidal - Age: 15 - Team: RED

Neil Vidal - Age: 16 - Team: RED


	3. Abuse and Fights

9 Years Before the Start

* * *

Adrianna clutched at her arms as she walked home in the dark, wishing she could have stayed with Jack and never ever have to go home. When she got to her house she snuck in through the her back door; avoiding the sole adult of the house with great care, she rushed a bit in getting to her room. She wrapped herself up tightly before dreaming of baseball bats and lemonade.

Adrianna woke the next day to the sound of Abella and Val screaming as they beat each other. A normal parent would have stopped such violent behavior, and eight years ago that would have been the case. When Aline, Adrianna's mother, died, the home fell into madness and violent dysfunction. The younger Leewana siblings remembered only this environment, and almost all the children hated it; all but the wild Abella and Val anyway. The father, Ogelsby, had not dealt well with Aline's death and had become rather abusive, particularly toward the youngest, Fernand, who'd been born only a few weeks before his mother's death.

Waiting in her room till the animalistic sounds ended, Adrianna gingerly peaked out from her little room and looked to see who'd won. Val lay in a hump on the floor, new bruises already forming. He was also covered in cuts, bites, and scratches. This meant that, as usual, Abella had won; not that she wasn't ripped up as well, she just was more practiced and notably crueler. Athan, Adrianna's mute brother, whom was about a year older than herself , stepped out of his room and started tending to the bloody and bruised fourteen-year-old on the floor. Val growled but did nothing more to lash out at his younger brother, this pointed to Adrianna that it was safe to pass that she could get downstairs with no worry of attack.

After finishing her breakfast, Adrianna ran from the house, back to where she knew a lemonade stand would be waiting for it's co-manager.

* * *

Noted Characters:

Adrianna Leewana - Age: 10 - Team: GREEN

Jack Vidal - Age: 10 - Team: RED

Ogelsby Leewana - Age: 50 - Team: GREEN

Aline Leewana - Age: Deceased - Team: GREEN

Fernand Leewana - Age: 8 - Team: GREEN

Athan Leewana - Age: 11 - Team: GREEN

Val Leewana - Age: 14 - Team: GREEN

Abella Leewana - Age: 15 - Team: GREEN


	4. More Than a Race

9 Years Before the Start

* * *

Scott smiled, the Young Scout's Summer Training Course had been his dream for several years now. Though he could have joined last year, his mother had been too busy. But then didn't mater to the nine-year-old boy, only now.

A relatively equal number of RED, BLU, and GREEN shirts filled the gym Scott had been escorted to; he quickly joined a small group filled solely with BLU Scout wannabes like himself. Scott was quick to find a rival, a thirteen-year-old by the name of Davis who'd topped the BLU finishing race sense his second year in the Course. As it was his last year he planned to finish top in the all-team race as well.

Davis was thicker built than most Scouts, with rough, curly tan hair; his nose looked as though it had been broken a few times, and his arms and legs displayed the first signs of puberty. His legs also showed the effect of about six years of loose summer training. He was no natural talent; he had worked to his place.

The only reason Scott didn't like or admire Davis was due to a clash, or alinement in natures; braggarts don't often enjoy the company of others of their kind after all. And so, Scott vowed that he would train harder than anyone else in the Course and beat Davis in both of the final races.

The first day was little more than running in place, endurance practice and the most basic exercise a Scout could do. Some, however, faltered quickly; most of these kids would be dropping out if their parents let them. Scott did well for his first day, but he knew he'd have to do much better to end of as top of the Course.

Initially Scott only ran once around his block, but he worked to increase the number till, by the end of the summer, he could around the block six or seven times before even starting to get tired. With his hard work, he was quick to start shining during the training sessions. Davis failed to hide how much he hated the way the coaches and other kids started praising and admiring him.

About two weeks into the course, some of Scott's older brothers, as well as his Aunt Joannie (when she was available), started helping him practice. Usually they timed him, but occasionally, Casey particularly, they would race him. Though his older brothers babied him at times, Scott loved their help as much as he loved them. Aunt Joannie was extra fun for him though; every time he beat his fastest record, or the most number of times around the block without being absolutely exhausted, she would take him to get a treat of his choice, be it ice cream of a new toy if it wasn't too expensive.

When the week of the races came, Scott was careful not to overwork himself. He worked on pacing himself like he would through the races; he know slow wouldn't win these, but steady could. Much to Scott's joy, his mother, aunt, and all of his brothers would be waiting at the finish line for the big race. Scott readied himself at the start of the BLU race with deep breaths and confident thoughts, while blocking out the sound of Davis bragging to some girl next to him.

The race started with the shot of the coach's pistol, and they were off. Scott took around the middle at first, but as the sprinters and dashers lost steam, Scott gained ground till he was at the front of the pack with Davis. The older boy was so cocksure of himself he didn't notice his rival coming up to him. Scott finished, much to Davis' rage, in first by about three inches.

The top ten from each of the team races made up the main race, organized RED, BLU, GREEN, and again so on. Scott was puffed up by this due to the fact that it was also organized according to who'd won each race. Again, the race began with pistols, but instead of just one, there were now three. Scott ended up about the middle once more, and from there things progressed almost exactly as they had the last race, until the very end; Scott's victory stealing move was a jump, a jump even some hired Scouts had trouble with, and anyone in the BLU stands (excluding Davis' parents) went wild for it.

Before Scott's family came down, Scott, Davis, and a GREEN girl who'd gotten third were lead to a side room. In it, a girl a little older than Scott with black hair, whom was dressed in purple, stood. In her hands were a clipboard and three rolled up papers, two with blue ribbons, and one with a green one.

"Congratulations, you three have earned special TFI scholarships for the Scout class. You have two options; get enrolled here immediately or get a mentor to teach you till you're ready to be hired." The girl handed out each scholarship to it's proper owner before continuing, "Please talk with your guardian or guardians and inform a coach here of your choice by the end of the week." The girl promptly left after, and the three were escorted out.

A week later, Scott was being driven by his mother to his first day of school at the Boston Institution for the Training of TFI Scouts (aka BITTS).

* * *

Noted Characters:

Scott Jonquil - Age: 9 - Team: BLU - Class: Future Scout

Davis Appleby - Age: 13 - Team: BLU - Class: Future Scout

Joannie Jonquil - Age: 35 - Team: BLU

Casey Wendale - Age: 12 - Team: BLU

Unnamed:

Ruthie Jonquil - Age: 31 - Team: BLU

Platt Wendale - Age: 9 - Team: BLU

Dwight Wendale - Age: 10 - Team: BLU

Hugh Wendale - Age: 11 - Team: BLU

Nyle Wendale - Age: 11 - Team: BLU

Avery Wendale - Age: 11 - Team: BLU

Zack Wendale - Age: 13 - Team: BLU

Penny Ritchie - Age: 10 - Team: GREEN - Class: Future Scout

Kate Pauling - Age: 11 - Team: Administration - Class: The Administrator's Assistant


End file.
